While I don't care for the mainstream, I still can't stand when they get bagged for not being real athletes. I have a friend and a brother who worked the amatuer circuits in the midwest for awhile. Both well built athletes, footballers etc. Both admit they never took a beating like that.
Predetermined outcome.. yes. But those people take a massive arse-kicking daily.
Indy and amatuer is still my fav. Take a beating like the pros, for pocket money. Ouch.
Wait, no, hey, i never said they weren't really athletes. Those dudes are actually INCREDIBLE athletes. I worked with a dude from ecuador that worked with a mexican circus for 20 years and he was probably the toughest guy i've ever worked with. I remember talking about mexican pro-wrestling with him. (His name was Leo). This is a guy who could throw my hori-hori (a digging knife) 30 feet into a fir tree, and have it stick in 4 inches, and he had MAD respect for the wrestler's athletic abilities. They are kinda un-sung heroes in terms of athletics, but the actual violence, and subsequent drama, is all staged. . . I had another friend, who actually went force recon eventually, that was into it just in regard to the athletic standpoint. This is a guy who climbed every major rock in my state, biked every trail, held state records in swimming and track, yet danced ballet, and had mad respect for pro-wrestlers. . . Believe me, NOBODY made fun of him (brad) for either the wrestling, or the ballet. . . 'less you wanted to get yr socks rocked by a man in a leotard.